Mark Curtis

Oxford

Director at Declassified UK

Director @DeclassifiedUK. Analyst of UK foreign policy. Please join us — https://t.co/f91OPVmZr9

Articles

UK leaders have betrayed those who fought in WW2

1 week ago | declassifieduk.org | Mark Curtis

Amid the 80th anniversary of VE day, we reflect on how British governments have failed to uphold the principles men and women defended during 1939-45. Veterans watch VE day commemorations from Buckingham Palace. (Photo: Rob Kane / MoD)We Britons can rightly be proud of helping to win the Second World War 80 years ago. Soviet and American power mainly proved decisive in defeating the evils of Nazi Germany and fascist Japan.
‘Use trade talks with Israel as leverage’, government urged

1 week ago | declassifieduk.org | Mark Curtis

The British government is being urged to halt its trade negotiations with Israel as it continues to bombard and blockade Gaza. Chris Law MP, the Scottish National Party’s spokesman on international trade, has accused Labour of acting “as if it is business as usual” after it sent a UK trade envoy to Israel. Keir Starmer’s trade commissioner for Europe, Chris Barton, visited Tel Aviv and Jerusalem between 24-27 March “to discuss a range of trade matters”, the government has said.
Birds of a feather - the Royal and Israeli Air Forces

1 month ago | declassifieduk.org | Mark Curtis

Explainer: The RAF has a secretive but special relationship with its Israeli counterpart which has been devastating Gaza. Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston visits Israel as a guest of its air force commander Amikam Norkin in March 2021. (Photo: RAF)On 4 March a giant US B-52 bomber took off from the US air force base at Fairford in Gloucestershire to fly alongside Israeli F-35 and F-16 warplanes over the eastern Mediterranean.
Britain is aiding Israel’s nuclear force

1 month ago | declassifieduk.org | Mark Curtis

UK companies have sold £9m worth of technology for Israel’s submarines, which are believed to house nuclear weapons. An Israeli Dolphin class submarine in Haifa. (Photo: Amir Cohen / Alamy)When the government recently published its arms exports data for the period July to September last year, one item caught the eye: a licence to sell Israel £7.1m worth of “technology for submarines”. Israel’s submarines are believed to house nuclear arms.
UK prioritises Ukraine’s critical minerals with 100-year partnership agreement and meetings with large corporations

2 months ago | expose-news.com | Rhoda Wilson |Mark Curtis

Breaking News It’s not just Trump. The UK views critical minerals as a government priority and wants to open up Ukraine’s vast resources to British corporations, Mark Curtis writes. Ukraine has significant deposits of minerals such as beryllium, manganese, gallium, uranium, and rare earth metals, which are crucial for industries like military production, high-tech and green energy.
Britain wants Ukraine’s minerals too

2 months ago | declassifieduk.org | Mark Curtis

It’s not just Trump. The UK views critical minerals as a government priority and wants to open up Ukraine’s vast resources to British corporations. A titanium ore quarry in Ukraine. (Photo: Yuliia Burlachenko / Alamy)When UK officials signed a 100 year partnership with Ukraine in mid-January, they claimed to be Ukraine’s “preferred partner” in developing the country’s “critical minerals strategy”.
Keir Starmer’s Plan For UK Growth - The Ukraine War

2 months ago | znetwork.org | Mark Curtis

UK military spending and aid to Ukraine are effectively providing a public subsidy to British arms firms. One major MoD contractor is currently being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office for suspected bribery and corruptionWars can be useful to governments, and the horrendous conflict in Ukraine is so proving.
Keir Starmer’s plan for UK growth - the Ukraine war

2 months ago | declassifieduk.org | Mark Curtis

The Labour government’s increase in military spending and its extraordinary new agreement with Ukraine are platforms for the UK arms industry, which Labour sees as key to economic growth in Britain Starmer signed a 100 year deal with Ukraine last month. (Photo: Capital Pictures / Alamy)UK military spending and aid to Ukraine are effectively providing a public subsidy to British arms firms.
Why have Israeli military aircraft been landing at a UK air base?

2 months ago | declassifieduk.org | Mark Curtis

Israel’s air force recently undertook three flights from the Royal Air Force’s main base in Oxfordshire. Were they carrying arms? Israeli military flights have been landing at Brize Norton. (Photo: APS / Alamy)The Israel Air Force (IAF) operated at least three transport flights from RAF Brize Norton in October and November last year, Declassified has found. Two of the flights – on 13 October and 28 November – went to the US Air Force base at Dover in Delaware.
The Chagos Islands Were Never Britain’s To Give Away

Feb 13, 2025 | znetwork.org | Mark Curtis

Nigel Farage and the Conservatives are having a meltdown about Britain ‘giving up sovereignty’ of illegally occupied land. Britain’s foreign secretary David Lammy will this week meet his new US counterpart, Marco Rubio, to rescue Labour’s plan for the joint UK-US military base on the Chagos Islands. The Trump administration appears to be challenging the UK government’s deal to permit Mauritius to take up sovereignty over the Indian Ocean islands.